Girlfriends are a Tender Mercy

"Girlfriends are a tender Mercy" ~ Tamara Kelm

This is a truth spoken eloquently.

I can share my hearts fears and aches and know that I will be validated and then encouraged and inspired. I can share my joys and know that I will get squeals of delight and happy dances.

At the beginning of this year I took a trip with a few of these girlfriends and we found a magnet of Rosie the Riveter stating "We can do it!"

I didn't know then how fitting that phrase was going to be this year as we all have had new and different challenges in our lives. We have reached out to each other for love and support in these challenges and have become better women for doing so.

I love Rosie the Riveter because she reminds me of the strength I have as a woman and when I feel alone, I am reminded that "We can do it."

Too bad you can't see my current guns, they are looking pretty awesome ;)

Invisible sign

Sometimes I ask myself if I am wearing a sign that says

"Mormon* men don't ask me on a date."

Seriously?

I'm Beautiful
I'm Spiritual
I laugh
I have fun
I can take a joke
I work out
I'm smart
...

Is that not good enough for you?

I heard a talk given by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf today.

Amidst his much wisdom he said,

"Sometimes they are wondering why no one asks them out."

I could relate!

Here is me in an attempt at taking off the sign that I am apparently blinded to.

I am sure I will regret this post in the morning

I will get pity comments, others who think I am too emotional, others who think I am to honest for the world to see, and then there will be other women who feel the exact same way as I do, "Why don't I get asked out, I am amazing!"

All I really wanted to do was rant** and shout out to the amazing women in the world who love and give and yet at times feel neglected.

* I specify mormon because I get asked out often enough by men who are not mormon. Apparently they are also blinded to the sign.
** So please don't leave a comment saying "you will find your one true love someday", I get it, I don't want a pity party, I am releasing so I can move on and enjoy the fact that I will be traveling this next month to West Palm Beach, Florida; San Diego, California; Salt Lake City, Utah. My life is not one to be pitied. It is one to be jealous of. :) I get to live an amazing single life and prepare for my one true love! Rock on! ;)

Forget Men

I am now in LOVE with these!
Unless a Man wants to buy me these! ;)

Epic Summer Adventure: Canyonlands National Park

What an adventure this park was.

Probably my favorite of all hikes was in this park.

I want to go back and backpack it some day, instead of just a long day hike.

We did half a day (June 15) at Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands, where we viewed the sites and took short little hikes. We reserved most of our hiking for The Needles District.

This is Mesa Arch. Short hike - .5 miles round trip easy trail, 100 ft elevation change.

The other hike we did was Upheaval Dome which was a moderate trail, 0.8 mile round trip and a 100 foot elevation change.

Total Hike Island in the sky: ~ 1.3 miles, probably about 1.5.

June 17

After our adventure in Arches we drove down to the Needles District
We camped inside the park this time.

We started our hike at the Elephant Hill Trailhead. This park was the most backcountry park that we had been to. Driving out to the trail head in our rental car was slow and steady since a lot of it was on unpaved and tiny one lane roads with sharp curves and dropoffs. It wasn't too bad unless you met a car coming the opposite direction.

This is a park known for Four Wheel Drives. We saw a lot of jeeps. Elephant Hill is also the beginning of a treacherous Four-Wheel Drive Road. Before we started on the trail up we saw a suburban start to go up and I thought to myself, you are crazy you won't fit. JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE DOESN'T MEAN IT IS A SMART IDEA TO GO UP ELEPHANT HILL. Lesson learned make sure you are in a jeep. They got stuck because there suburban was too big.

Here is the description for the drive: "One of the most technical four-wheel-drive roads in Utah, Elephant Hill presents drivers with steep grades, loose rock, stair step drops, tight turns, and backing." Again may I say, "What were you thinking?"

Chesler Park Loop / Joint Trail 11 mile (oops we made a wrong turn and made it 12 miles) ~ 6 hours.

Here is the reason it is called Elephant Hill, do you see the head with the trunk. Luckily we had someone we met on the trail point it out to us. Otherwise we probably would have walked on by without noticing.

The next pictures was my favorite part of all the hikes!

This is what our friend we met on the trail named the Cairn graveyard. :)

The other hike we went on was Pothole Point ~ .6 mile ~ 30 minutes. easy short hike.

That night we went to hear a ranger talk, which was fun and educational. In the process we learned that the birds out there were quick to grab food left alone for only a minute. Too bad we didn't get a picture of Elizabeth and I running back to our campfire where we had left our dinner briefly. Luckily the birds hadn't found it yet.

Total Day Hike ~ 12.6

Total Park Hike ~ 14.1

Off to Mesa Verde on my birthday!!